Adjustable configuration uhf loop antenna

ABSTRACT

A built-in television antenna, particularly suitable for use as a UHF antenna, is made of a loop of convoluted metal tubing.

United States Patent 1151 3,653,051

Wu 1451 Mar. 28, 1972 [54] ADJUSTABLE CONFIGURATION UHF 5 6 V R e fenenees Citeti 7V V LOOP ANTENNA UNITED STATES PATENTS [72] invent Dam 7672 Greenback Lane 2,751,561 6/1956 King ..333/95 s 3,008,104 11/1961 Scappleetal... ..33 3/95 [221 File M 0 1970 3,089,141 5/1963 Odenwald ..343/802 3,522,608 8/1970 Von Fange ..343/702 211 Appl. No.2 39,001

Primary Examiner-Eli Lieberman 521 u.s.c1 ..343/102,343/741,;143/868 511 lnt.Cl. ..H0lql1/l2 [58] FieldofSearch ..343/702,724,868,871,915, [57] ABSTRACT A built-in television antenna, particularly suitable for use as a UHF antenna, is made of a loop of convoluted metal tubing.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Fig ures PA'rENTEnmARze 1912 I 3, 653 O51 INVENTOR.

DA V/D J. WU

ATTOKNE Y SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION For some time, television receivers have been provided built-in antennas. Ordinarily for VHF use these are in the form of the familiar rabbit ears" and for Ul-lF applications are ordinarily in the form of a small loop of stiff wire. Although the antenna of the present invention can be made in various sizes so that it would be suitable for VHF use, it is particularly adapted for UHF applications.

The conventional antennas of stiff wire now provided have several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the wire is so stiff that it is often impossible to obtain the best orientation for the antenna when the cabinet is in a fixed position. Another is that the antenna ordinarily protrudes above and far in back of the cabinet so that it is easily broken off if it is not removed when the set is being transported. Another is that since the antenna is made of relatively thin wire, it is not particularly efficient as an antenna because of its narrow bandwidth.

All of the above disadvantages are obviated by the antenna of the present invention which is made of convoluted metal tubing of the type commonly known as BX" with metal clips on the ends thereof so that it can be readily fastened to the conventional terminals of a television set.

Since the loop is very flexible, it can be moved into any plane to take advantage of horizontally or vertically polarized signals arriving from any direction.

Also, since the antenna is flexible, it is not easily broken and will withstand hard shocks without damage.

Another advantage of the present antenna is that one or both terminals can be disconnected and the antenna can be made to lie flat against the back of the TV set so that it occupies substantially no room in storage and shipment.

Another advantage of the antenna of the present invention is that it has a relatively large diameter in relationship to its length so that it has a wide bandwidth and is therefore highly efiicient in the reception of UHF signals which occupy a wide frequency spectrum.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the rear of a television set showing an antenna embodying the present inventionin place thereon.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the antenna of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is the rear view of a television set, similar to FIG. 1,- showing the antenna flat against the rear of the set for storage or transportation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing by reference characters, there is shown a television set generally designated 5 with terminals 7 and 9 for the attachment of a UHF antenna thereto. Although these particular terminals are shown arranged horizontally, on some sets, they might be arranged vertically but the antenna of the present invention would nevertheless be applicable thereto. Terminals 5 and 7 may lead direct to the UI-IF tuner, or more commonly, may lead to a terminal board 8, so that an external antenna can be substituted for either or both of the built-in VHF and UHF antennas.

The antenna itself consists of a piece of metal convoluted tubing 11. At the ends of the tubing 11 are the terminal members l3 and 15 which are fastened to the convoluted tubing by any suitable means such as the solder connection shown at 17. The ends of the members 13 and 15 are formed as loops l9 and 21 for ready attachment to the terminals 7 and 9.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tubing may be extended at an angle to the set as is shown in solid lines or it can be folded flat against the set as is shown in dot dash lines. Similarly, in FIG. 2, two different formations of a loop are shown. Obviously there are many other configurations possible.

In FIG. 3 the antenna is shown in a straightened form suitable for storage or transportation of the set. Here a book 23 has been provided on the rear of the set for attachment of one end of the tubing. The opposite end of the antenna can be left attached to one of the terminals 7 or 9, as shown.

In a practical embodiment of the invention, the antenna proper was formed from a convoluted tubing three-eighth inch in diameter and 25 inches long. Since the antenna has a relatively large diameter for its length, it has a wide bandwidth.

Although the antenna has been shown attached to the television set itself, it could be mounted on a separate base and sold as an accessory.

I claim:

1. A television antenna comprising a length of convoluted metal tubing having a terminal at each end thereof, each of said terminals being rigidly fastened to said convoluted tubing and each terminal being adapted to be fastened to a television set by means of a screw to maintain the convoluted tubing in a preset loop configuration.

2. The antenna of claim 1 formed as a part of a television set, said television set having a separate terminal on the rear whereby one end of said antenna can be attached to said separate terminal in a straight position for storage or transportation.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein the tubing has a diameter about three-eighth inches and a length of about 25 inches. 

1. A television antenna comprising a length of convoluted metal tubing having a terminal at each end thereof, each of said terminals being rigidly fastened to said convoluted tubing and each terminal being adapted to be fastened to a television set by means of a screw to maintain the convoluted tubing in a preset loop configuration.
 2. The antenna of claim 1 formed as a part of a television set, said television set having a separate terminal on the rear whereby one end of said antenna can be attached to said separate terminal in a straight position for storage or transportation.
 3. The structure of claim 1 wherein the tubing has a diameter about three-eighth inches and a length of about 25 inches. 